Hey guys I have finally given in and I am going to switch to a charcoal grill (I will still be keeping my genesis for occasional convince grilling) but I was wondering what would be a decent started charcoal grill. I have been eyeing the Weber 758001 22-1/2" One Touch Gold Charcoal Grill, Blue model. Any opinions on this bad boy? Please let me know as fathers day is approaching soon and I need all the time I can get to work this in so I don’t get a bottle of old spice this year

I would pick something that would allow you to grill as well as smoke. This way you don’t have to buy a third unit down the road. All the Weber units are great and you can’t go wrong in getting any of them (based on your needs). Ask yourself this question first; would I be interested in smoking or just grilling? If you're planning on getting into smoking, then you can save yourself a lot of money and space by getting something that does both.
This is what I have: www.chargriller.com. But the possibilities are endless out there.
Good luck.

The 22 1/2" Weber Kettle is a great choice for a grill. I use my in laws all the time. If you want to be able to smoke also, look at the Silver Smoker by Charbroil. It's only about $20 more and it's already set-up to grill in the fire box. I cry every time I see one because I had to sell mine when I moved to Virginia. I couldn't use it in a 20th floor apt..

Sun May 16, 2004 9:24 pm

Guest

I bought a new gas grill last year July and then this year I bought the weber 22.5 gold and love it I use it for grilling and smoking. I know that next year I will have to ask for a smoker. Noboday can have too many toys. So If I were you I would get the weber this year and smoke on it and next year you can say you need a smoker because the weber is to small, and then you will have all the toys.

As far as a choice for both grilling and smoking. None in this price range will let you do both at the same time. But I'd get the 22" for grilling and get a WSM, Chargriller w/fire box or a Charbroil silver for smoking.

I have a six burner Kenmore Elite gas, an old Master touch 22" Weber, and a New Braulfels offset smoker.
Many times all three are in service at once, not to mention the turkey fryer for boiling corn or steaming crabs and the Coleman pump-up style camp stove for almost everything else.

Could I get by without any of these, sure, But, for under $1500 this is almost the ultimate outdoor kitchen!

The Weber is tried and true. Easy to control and pretty stingy on fuel. Not to mention if kept free of ashes will last for what seems to be forever. The Master touch mentioned above is going on 15 years old and I just replaced (this weekend to be exact) the one touch cleaning parts for the first time.(and I don't keep it that cleaned out). Of course if you use it 3 to 5 times a week moisture doesn't seem to accumulate long enough to rust it out.

I have to disagree with the statement: “Neither can do both well”
My Chargriller main chamber is designed to be an independent grill and it does it very well. The side firebox makes smoking a snap. And I only spent about $170 for the whole step up. I did do a lot of research before I found something the does both well.

Z, the Gold is perfectly capable of smoking, I've done it many many times, it's just harder to hold heat under 275 and doesnt have the capacity a typical smoker does but it can be done and great results are possible. With practice lower temps can be maintained.

spacemmountain: Get yourself the Gold and be pleased for well over a decade. It might be the most perfect family sized charcoal grill there is and no one can beat their support and accessories/repalcement parts. If you can afford the Platinum, get that since it has a table and storage underneath both of which you'll have no problem using. Not to mention you get to join our Platinum heads club